Is there a stupid fun video game that can be made out of the Rambo movies? Absolutely, all the pieces are there. Will Rambo: The Video Game be that video game? You might think so if you just watched the latest trailer, but it's a little deceptive.
We see Rambo doing all kinds of exciting things. He's climbing cliffs, jumping off boats as they explode, sneaking up on meanie heads with that scary big Bowie knife, and other classic Rambo stuff. The problem is that you won't really get to do any of that in the game, as it's an on-rails shooter.
Not that there's anything wrong with on-rail shooters! To the contrary. I wish they were as prevalent as they used to be, and I can imagine having a lot of fun with Rambo: The Video Game, at the movie theater, with a light-gun, for a short time. At home, with a mouse, less so.
Another curious choice that Rambo: The Video Game makes is that it follows the plot of the first three movies. It works for the plot of First Blood Part II, in which Rambo stalks Soviets through the jungles of Vietnam, and Rambo III, in which he's palling around with the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, blowing up Spetsnaz helicopters. But First Blood is a surprisingly difficult movie about post traumatic stress disorder. Games like Spec Ops: The Line have made interesting attempts at tackling the subject, but it doesn't seem like a good fit for a genre where literally the only type of interaction is reloading and firing bullets.
